OPERATION PROTECTIVE EDGE 8 JULY-26 AUG 2014
Emad Abu Qadous 5
Killed 14 feb 2013
Gaza: Palestinian Boy dies; Three More Injured Due to Israeli Ordnance
Killed 14 feb 2013
Gaza: Palestinian Boy dies; Three More Injured Due to Israeli Ordnance
OPERATION PILLAR OF CLOUD 14-21 NOV 2012
OPERATION PILLAR OF CLOUD 14-21 NOV 2012
Nadeen Bashir 5
Died 1 apr 2012
Palestinian mourners hold the pictures of three children (from L-R: Nadine, Sabri and Farah Bashir) who were killed the previous day in a domestic fire during their funeral procession in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 02, 2012.
The three Palestinian children, aged two, five and six, all members of the Bashir family, were found dead on April 1 in a fire in their room caused by a candle being used due to lack of electricity in Gaza, according to an emergency services official as the Gaza Strip's sole power station shuddered to a halt a week ago, running out of fuel just 48 hours after some 450,000 litres were delivered to the coastal strip from Israel.
Died 1 apr 2012
Palestinian mourners hold the pictures of three children (from L-R: Nadine, Sabri and Farah Bashir) who were killed the previous day in a domestic fire during their funeral procession in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 02, 2012.
The three Palestinian children, aged two, five and six, all members of the Bashir family, were found dead on April 1 in a fire in their room caused by a candle being used due to lack of electricity in Gaza, according to an emergency services official as the Gaza Strip's sole power station shuddered to a halt a week ago, running out of fuel just 48 hours after some 450,000 litres were delivered to the coastal strip from Israel.
No name 5
Killed 20 aug 2011
a five-year-old was among the fatalities of the attacks carried out late on Friday.
The Israeli airstrikes began on Thursday, shortly after eight Israelis were killed near the Red Sea resort town of Eilat.
Dozens of Palestinians have also been injured in the attacks.
Israeli officials have blamed a Gaza-based militant group called the Popular Resistance Committee (PRC) for Thursday's attack and have vowed a “full force” response targeting Gaza.
Israel said the attackers had infiltrated from the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, although the PRC, which is not affiliated with Hamas, denied involvement in the incident.
Hamas has said that it had nothing to do with the assault and has warned against any act of aggression against the Gaza Strip.
Killed 20 aug 2011
a five-year-old was among the fatalities of the attacks carried out late on Friday.
The Israeli airstrikes began on Thursday, shortly after eight Israelis were killed near the Red Sea resort town of Eilat.
Dozens of Palestinians have also been injured in the attacks.
Israeli officials have blamed a Gaza-based militant group called the Popular Resistance Committee (PRC) for Thursday's attack and have vowed a “full force” response targeting Gaza.
Israel said the attackers had infiltrated from the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, although the PRC, which is not affiliated with Hamas, denied involvement in the incident.
Hamas has said that it had nothing to do with the assault and has warned against any act of aggression against the Gaza Strip.
Mustapha Ahmad Sehwel 5
Killed 22 mar 2011
A five-year-old boy died Monday in the Gaza Strip, 10 days after he was attacked in the coastal enclave.
Mustapha Ahmad Sehwel’s parents said he went to buy fuel with his brothers when unidentified attackers poured fuel on his trousers and set fire to him.
His brothers put the fire out as quickly as they could, but the boy sustained serious burns and developed blood poisoning from the wounds, the family said.
Mustapha’s parents said police were investigating the incident but had not yet detained any suspects.
Killed 22 mar 2011
A five-year-old boy died Monday in the Gaza Strip, 10 days after he was attacked in the coastal enclave.
Mustapha Ahmad Sehwel’s parents said he went to buy fuel with his brothers when unidentified attackers poured fuel on his trousers and set fire to him.
His brothers put the fire out as quickly as they could, but the boy sustained serious burns and developed blood poisoning from the wounds, the family said.
Mustapha’s parents said police were investigating the incident but had not yet detained any suspects.
Fuad Swerih 5
Killed 29 mar 2010
child died at a local hospital due to the ongoing illegal Israeli siege on the coastal region.
The child, Fuad Swerih, 5, suffered respiratory issues, and Israeli prevented his transfer to hospitals outside the besieged and war- torn Gaza Strip.
Swerih is from Al Nusseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza.
The doctors were trying to have him transferred to an Israeli hospital but Israel rejected all applications.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58323
Killed 29 mar 2010
child died at a local hospital due to the ongoing illegal Israeli siege on the coastal region.
The child, Fuad Swerih, 5, suffered respiratory issues, and Israeli prevented his transfer to hospitals outside the besieged and war- torn Gaza Strip.
Swerih is from Al Nusseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza.
The doctors were trying to have him transferred to an Israeli hospital but Israel rejected all applications.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58323
Dima Al-Rahel 5
Died of her wounds 3 mar 2009 Cast Lead
“The other children keep talking about Dima and the memories of both incidents. ‘We wish to die like Dima’ is what the children sometimes say to me because of all the stress and our poor living conditions.”
On 8 January 2009, at approximately 11:00, four missiles were fired at the house of Juma’a al-Rahel (45) in Beit Lahiya, injuring three members of the extended al-Rahel family: Basma (3), Dima (5), and Faten (41). Many of the extended family were inside the house at the time of the attack, as six of the al-Rahel brothers and their wives and children live nearby. Immediately after the attack, the families fled the area and sought refuge in Beit Lahiya’s UNRWA school. On 17 January 2009 the school was targeted with white phosphorus bombs, leaving Dima’s sister, Ansam al-Rahel (13), severely injured. After six weeks of fighting for her life 5-year old Dima eventually died of her wounds in an Egyptian hospital on 1 March 2009.
Saeed al-Rahel (35), the father of Dima and Ansam, remembers the day of the first attack vividly. “I was at home when an explosion took place and all the windows were broken. I got out of the house. I heard people screaming in the house of my brother Juma’a, nextdoor. My daughter Dima was there and I heard people screaming that she was wounded. Several more missiles struck Juma’a’s house and we fled from the area. Dima was taken to hospital. On 13 January she was transferred to Egypt. I went with her.”
Saeed’s wife, Nisreen al-Rahel (33), and their other children, Sunia (seventeen), Dina (fifteen), Ansam (13), Ahmad (11), Mohammed (6 ), and Ali (4), stayed in the UNRWA school in Beit Lahiya after the attack. Nisreen recalls: “we stayed in the school building from 8 to 17 January. It was winter and very cold. We didn’t have any mattresses. We had to use blankets as mattresses and it was very difficult, especially for the children. We didn’t have enough food. We also had to ask other people to give us water. There was no clean water.”
On 17 January 2009 the Israeli army bombed the school building with white phosphorus shells.
“Experiencing the attack on the school was more difficult for me than the attack on the house. At the moment that the bombing of the school started I was in a classroom with my children. The bombing started around 5:00am and it was dark. I heard Ansam cry ‘I am wounded in my head’. The firing of bombs was very intensive.” Ansam was severely injured in the head, she lost her hair in the place of the injury and the scars get infected from time to time as parts of her skull are missing. “She is still suffering because of her injuries. At school she loses consciousness when she is active,” say Nisreen.
Saeed remembers the moment he found out about the bombing of the school: “Before I went to Egypt I stayed in that same classroom with my family. I saw the attack on the television when I was in Egypt and I recognized the classroom. There was blood on the floor. When I called to my family, no one wanted to tell me how my daughter Ansam was doing.”
When Nisreen and her remaining children moved back to their house after the offensive they found it badly damaged and their livelihood destroyed. “Shortly before the war I bought cattle. We had 2 oxen, 17 goats and dozens of rabbits. I kept them next to our house. I took out loans to buy them,” explains Saeed. “When our family returned to our house after the war they found all the animals killed by shrapnel. Only one goat was still alive but he also died after a few days. Now I am stuck with many loans. I can barely provide for the treatment of my daughter Ansam. I was even arrested by the police because I cannot pay back my loans to people. With a complete lack of money I am also not able to repair the severe damage that was done to the windows and walls of our house.” Cardboard and blankets serve to protect the family from the nightly and winter cold.
The events of January 2009 have had a profound impact on the psychological wellbeing of the Saeed, Nisreen, and their children. “It has been very difficult for me because I lost one of my daughters and another one was badly injured. I remember Dima when I see girls going to school,” says Nisreen. “The other children keep talking about Dima and the memories of both incidents. ‘We wish to die like Dima’ is what the children sometimes say to me because of all the stress and our poor living conditions.
Saeed noticed changes in his children too. “Ansam holds a lot of anxiety and stress since the war. One time I called her and she started screaming and threw a plate at me, screaming to leave her alone. I am her father and she is afraid of me.” Nisreen adds: “Ahmad’s scores were badly affected after the war. He used to be an excellent student. Now he even has problems in reading. He also suffers from bedwetting.”
Fear seems to have become a part of daily life for the family. ”The children, like me, are always afraid when they hear drones or firing. When we hear it, we all sit in a single room,” says Nisreen. The fear of another attack is never far from Saeed’s thoughts either: “I am afraid that another war will come. When people talk about it I feel afraid. When I hear drones in the area, I leave the house. I get afraid that they will target us again.”Dima a-Rahel 5
Died of her wounds 3 mar 2009 Cast Lead
“The other children keep talking about Dima and the memories of both incidents. ‘We wish to die like Dima’ is what the children sometimes say to me because of all the stress and our poor living conditions.”
On 8 January 2009, at approximately 11:00, four missiles were fired at the house of Juma’a al-Rahel (45) in Beit Lahiya, injuring three members of the extended al-Rahel family: Basma (3), Dima (5), and Faten (41). Many of the extended family were inside the house at the time of the attack, as six of the al-Rahel brothers and their wives and children live nearby. Immediately after the attack, the families fled the area and sought refuge in Beit Lahiya’s UNRWA school. On 17 January 2009 the school was targeted with white phosphorus bombs, leaving Dima’s sister, Ansam al-Rahel (13), severely injured. After six weeks of fighting for her life 5-year old Dima eventually died of her wounds in an Egyptian hospital on 1 March 2009.
Saeed al-Rahel (35), the father of Dima and Ansam, remembers the day of the first attack vividly. “I was at home when an explosion took place and all the windows were broken. I got out of the house. I heard people screaming in the house of my brother Juma’a, nextdoor. My daughter Dima was there and I heard people screaming that she was wounded. Several more missiles struck Juma’a’s house and we fled from the area. Dima was taken to hospital. On 13 January she was transferred to Egypt. I went with her.”
Saeed’s wife, Nisreen al-Rahel (33), and their other children, Sunia (seventeen), Dina (fifteen), Ansam (13), Ahmad (11), Mohammed (6 ), and Ali (4), stayed in the UNRWA school in Beit Lahiya after the attack. Nisreen recalls: “we stayed in the school building from 8 to 17 January. It was winter and very cold. We didn’t have any mattresses. We had to use blankets as mattresses and it was very difficult, especially for the children. We didn’t have enough food. We also had to ask other people to give us water. There was no clean water.”
On 17 January 2009 the Israeli army bombed the school building with white phosphorus shells.
“Experiencing the attack on the school was more difficult for me than the attack on the house. At the moment that the bombing of the school started I was in a classroom with my children. The bombing started around 5:00am and it was dark. I heard Ansam cry ‘I am wounded in my head’. The firing of bombs was very intensive.” Ansam was severely injured in the head, she lost her hair in the place of the injury and the scars get infected from time to time as parts of her skull are missing. “She is still suffering because of her injuries. At school she loses consciousness when she is active,” say Nisreen.
Saeed remembers the moment he found out about the bombing of the school: “Before I went to Egypt I stayed in that same classroom with my family. I saw the attack on the television when I was in Egypt and I recognized the classroom. There was blood on the floor. When I called to my family, no one wanted to tell me how my daughter Ansam was doing.”
When Nisreen and her remaining children moved back to their house after the offensive they found it badly damaged and their livelihood destroyed. “Shortly before the war I bought cattle. We had 2 oxen, 17 goats and dozens of rabbits. I kept them next to our house. I took out loans to buy them,” explains Saeed. “When our family returned to our house after the war they found all the animals killed by shrapnel. Only one goat was still alive but he also died after a few days. Now I am stuck with many loans. I can barely provide for the treatment of my daughter Ansam. I was even arrested by the police because I cannot pay back my loans to people. With a complete lack of money I am also not able to repair the severe damage that was done to the windows and walls of our house.” Cardboard and blankets serve to protect the family from the nightly and winter cold.
The events of January 2009 have had a profound impact on the psychological wellbeing of the Saeed, Nisreen, and their children. “It has been very difficult for me because I lost one of my daughters and another one was badly injured. I remember Dima when I see girls going to school,” says Nisreen. “The other children keep talking about Dima and the memories of both incidents. ‘We wish to die like Dima’ is what the children sometimes say to me because of all the stress and our poor living conditions.
Saeed noticed changes in his children too. “Ansam holds a lot of anxiety and stress since the war. One time I called her and she started screaming and threw a plate at me, screaming to leave her alone. I am her father and she is afraid of me.” Nisreen adds: “Ahmad’s scores were badly affected after the war. He used to be an excellent student. Now he even has problems in reading. He also suffers from bedwetting.”
Fear seems to have become a part of daily life for the family. ”The children, like me, are always afraid when they hear drones or firing. When we hear it, we all sit in a single room,” says Nisreen. The fear of another attack is never far from Saeed’s thoughts either: “I am afraid that another war will come. When people talk about it I feel afraid. When I hear drones in the area, I leave the house. I get afraid that they will target us again.”Dima a-Rahel 5
Rawan abu-Tabaq 5
Killed 09-02-09
died of a brain fluid infection after Israel denied him/her permission to leave the Gaza Strip for medical treatment. Her brother (17) died the same day.
Killed 09-02-09
died of a brain fluid infection after Israel denied him/her permission to leave the Gaza Strip for medical treatment. Her brother (17) died the same day.
OPERATION CAST LEAD 27 DEC 2008-18 JAN 1009
Nassar a-Samuni 5
Killed 05-01-09
Killed in a-Zeitun neighborhood when soldiers ordered the extended Samuni family to gather in the house of one of the family members. The next morning, the house was bombed and collapsed on its occupants, killing 21 of the family, and injuring many.
The following is a translated transcript of the appeal from Helme Samouni:
"On behalf of the surviving members of the Sammoni family and the hundreds of other families in Gaza who have been killed by war crimes committed by the Givati Brigade of the Israeli Army, we are shocked and disappointed by the decision of De Beers to present the Queen of England with a diamond manufactured by the Steinmetz Diamond company -- a company which supported the Givati Brigade during the Israeli war on Gaza late 2008 as they murdered 29 members of our family in cold blood. We the Sammoni family call on the Queen of England and the British people to decline this gift. We demand that De Beers be instructed to remove this offensive blood diamond display immediately.
Diamonds that generate revenue used to fund a regime guilty of war crimes are de-facto blood diamonds.
We call on De-Beers to show respect for the surviving victims of the diamond-funded Givati Brigade's actions in Gaza and remove the Forevermark Steinmetz Jubilee diamond from the Tower of London.
We call on Steinmetz Diamond company to end all support for and association with the Israeli military and to make reparation to the Sammuni family and the other victims of the Givati Brigade's actions in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead.
The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem describes the massacre of 21 members of the Al Samouni family as follows:
"On 4 January 2009, at the start of the ground phase of operation Cast Lead, about 100 members of the extended a-Samuni family were huddled inside one house in the a-Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City. The next morning, an Israeli airstrike killed 21 people inside the house, including 9 children and 10 women, and injured dozens of other family members. During the next two days, the army refused access to medical teams, in spite of being informed of the terrible outcome by family members who managed to escape the bombed home and human rights and humanitarian organizations, including B'Tselem. When medics managed to get to site, they found four small children next to their dead mothers in one of the houses, and evacuated several wounded people. The army refused permission to evacuate the bodies and they remained in the rubble for a further two weeks."
A UH Human Rights Council investigation concluded that Israeli forces committed serious war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.
The Sammoni family, 29 members of which were killed by the Israeli military in Gaza in 2009, have issued an appeal to the British Queen to remove the Steinmetz Forevermark Jubilee Diamond which De Beers put on display in the Tower of London to mark the Queen Elizabeth II's Jubilee.
In total, 29 members of the Sammoni family were killed by the Givati Brigade of the Israeli army during the Israeli assault on Gaza (Operation Cast Lead) in December 2008 – January 2009. 21 were killed in a single airstrike on a building in which the family were taking cover, and 8 others killed during the course of the 23-day-long attack. The Steinmetz diamond company has "adopted" a Unit of the Givati Brigade which it funded and supported during the brutal assault on the people of Gaza.
In the appeal, posted to YouTube today, Helmi Sammoni, speaking on behalf of the family said: "On behalf of the surviving members of the Sammoni family and the hundreds of other families in Gaza who have been killed by war crimes committed by the Givati Brigade of the Israeli Army, we are shocked and disappointed by the decision of De Beers to present the Queen of England with a diamond manufactured by the Steinmetz Diamond company – a company which supported the Givati Brigade during the Israeli war on Gaza late 2008 as they murdered 29 members of our family in cold blood. We the Sammoni family call on the Queen of England and the British people to decline this gift. We demand that De Beers be instructed to remove this offensive blood diamond display immediately."
Background
In one of the most despicable example of gross human rights violations recorded during the three weeks of the attack, twenty one members of the Sammoni family - innocent and defenceless children, women and men - were killed by the Givati Brigade in a single incident. The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem describes the incident as follows:
"On 4 January 2009, at the start of the ground phase of operation Cast Lead, about 100 members of the extended a-Samuni family were huddled inside one house in the a-Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City. The next morning, an Israeli airstrike killed 21 people inside the house, including 9 children and 10 women, and injured dozens of other family members. During the next two days, the army refused access to medical teams, in spite of being informed of the terrible outcome by family members who managed to escape the bombed home and human rights and humanitarian organizations, including B'Tselem. When medics managed to get to site, they found four small children next to their dead mothers in one of the houses, and evacuated several wounded people. The army refused permission to evacuate the bodies and they remained in the rubble for a further two weeks."
A UN Human Rights Council investigation concluded that Israeli forces committed serious war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during Operation Cast Lead.
Sean Clinton, coordinator of the Boycott Israeli Blood Diamonds campaign for the Boycott Israel Network (BIN) and the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) stated: "Diamonds that generate revenue used to fund a regime guilty of war crimes, in this case Israel's apartheid regime, are de-facto blood diamonds. We call on De-Beers to show respect for the surviving victims of the diamond-funded Givati Brigade's actions in Gaza and remove the Forevermark Steinmetz Jubilee diamond from the Tower of London."
Killed 05-01-09
Killed in a-Zeitun neighborhood when soldiers ordered the extended Samuni family to gather in the house of one of the family members. The next morning, the house was bombed and collapsed on its occupants, killing 21 of the family, and injuring many.
The following is a translated transcript of the appeal from Helme Samouni:
"On behalf of the surviving members of the Sammoni family and the hundreds of other families in Gaza who have been killed by war crimes committed by the Givati Brigade of the Israeli Army, we are shocked and disappointed by the decision of De Beers to present the Queen of England with a diamond manufactured by the Steinmetz Diamond company -- a company which supported the Givati Brigade during the Israeli war on Gaza late 2008 as they murdered 29 members of our family in cold blood. We the Sammoni family call on the Queen of England and the British people to decline this gift. We demand that De Beers be instructed to remove this offensive blood diamond display immediately.
Diamonds that generate revenue used to fund a regime guilty of war crimes are de-facto blood diamonds.
We call on De-Beers to show respect for the surviving victims of the diamond-funded Givati Brigade's actions in Gaza and remove the Forevermark Steinmetz Jubilee diamond from the Tower of London.
We call on Steinmetz Diamond company to end all support for and association with the Israeli military and to make reparation to the Sammuni family and the other victims of the Givati Brigade's actions in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead.
The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem describes the massacre of 21 members of the Al Samouni family as follows:
"On 4 January 2009, at the start of the ground phase of operation Cast Lead, about 100 members of the extended a-Samuni family were huddled inside one house in the a-Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City. The next morning, an Israeli airstrike killed 21 people inside the house, including 9 children and 10 women, and injured dozens of other family members. During the next two days, the army refused access to medical teams, in spite of being informed of the terrible outcome by family members who managed to escape the bombed home and human rights and humanitarian organizations, including B'Tselem. When medics managed to get to site, they found four small children next to their dead mothers in one of the houses, and evacuated several wounded people. The army refused permission to evacuate the bodies and they remained in the rubble for a further two weeks."
A UH Human Rights Council investigation concluded that Israeli forces committed serious war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.
The Sammoni family, 29 members of which were killed by the Israeli military in Gaza in 2009, have issued an appeal to the British Queen to remove the Steinmetz Forevermark Jubilee Diamond which De Beers put on display in the Tower of London to mark the Queen Elizabeth II's Jubilee.
In total, 29 members of the Sammoni family were killed by the Givati Brigade of the Israeli army during the Israeli assault on Gaza (Operation Cast Lead) in December 2008 – January 2009. 21 were killed in a single airstrike on a building in which the family were taking cover, and 8 others killed during the course of the 23-day-long attack. The Steinmetz diamond company has "adopted" a Unit of the Givati Brigade which it funded and supported during the brutal assault on the people of Gaza.
In the appeal, posted to YouTube today, Helmi Sammoni, speaking on behalf of the family said: "On behalf of the surviving members of the Sammoni family and the hundreds of other families in Gaza who have been killed by war crimes committed by the Givati Brigade of the Israeli Army, we are shocked and disappointed by the decision of De Beers to present the Queen of England with a diamond manufactured by the Steinmetz Diamond company – a company which supported the Givati Brigade during the Israeli war on Gaza late 2008 as they murdered 29 members of our family in cold blood. We the Sammoni family call on the Queen of England and the British people to decline this gift. We demand that De Beers be instructed to remove this offensive blood diamond display immediately."
Background
In one of the most despicable example of gross human rights violations recorded during the three weeks of the attack, twenty one members of the Sammoni family - innocent and defenceless children, women and men - were killed by the Givati Brigade in a single incident. The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem describes the incident as follows:
"On 4 January 2009, at the start of the ground phase of operation Cast Lead, about 100 members of the extended a-Samuni family were huddled inside one house in the a-Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City. The next morning, an Israeli airstrike killed 21 people inside the house, including 9 children and 10 women, and injured dozens of other family members. During the next two days, the army refused access to medical teams, in spite of being informed of the terrible outcome by family members who managed to escape the bombed home and human rights and humanitarian organizations, including B'Tselem. When medics managed to get to site, they found four small children next to their dead mothers in one of the houses, and evacuated several wounded people. The army refused permission to evacuate the bodies and they remained in the rubble for a further two weeks."
A UN Human Rights Council investigation concluded that Israeli forces committed serious war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during Operation Cast Lead.
Sean Clinton, coordinator of the Boycott Israeli Blood Diamonds campaign for the Boycott Israel Network (BIN) and the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) stated: "Diamonds that generate revenue used to fund a regime guilty of war crimes, in this case Israel's apartheid regime, are de-facto blood diamonds. We call on De-Beers to show respect for the surviving victims of the diamond-funded Givati Brigade's actions in Gaza and remove the Forevermark Steinmetz Jubilee diamond from the Tower of London."
OPERATION CAST LEAD 27 DEC 2008-18 JAN 1009